Finding the Unicorn

I’m a little behind with this one as I have already been in Bangkok 5 days now, but you are going to get everything in order so stick with me.

During my last days in Bombay I caught up with Mike again. Being the considerate soul he is, he was worried about me going to Hyderabad. There were some bombings that occurred at the Mecca Masjid while I was getting ready to go there. I decided that it would be extra safe to go there as all security and Police would be extra vigilant and on Wednesday night boarded the train at Victoria Station. I got the lower bunk in a 3-tier and did my best to sleep.

In the morning our little section (for 6 people) consistently had more than 6 people in it. On my bench there were just the 3 of us (myself, a woman and her daughter), but the other side was crammed with between 4 and 7 people the entire way to Hyderabad. I think it is because they wanted to look at me. The people that were actually booked on the seats opposite us were squished to the ends of the bench if not ousted all-together and relegated to returning to the top bed. One very fat man inserted himself on the seat at about 9am and the people who could rightly claim to sit there politely let him take up their room – amazing.

It was nice to be back in Hyderabad. Even though it has similar traffic chaos to everywhere else, the inhabitants are very laid back. The only place I was hassled was from rickshaw drivers and hotel hawkers at the railway station. I found a room to stay at the Hotel Saptagiri – now my favourite hotel in Hyd. Not as noisy and dusty as the Park Hotel and has a lift (I swear I’m not lazy, it’s just really hot work going up stairs).

After checking in and cleaning up I went straight out to get Mum’s Salwar Kameez – success. Also got my sunglasses fixed – the rotten things . I keep forgetting where they are hanging and they fall to the ground, every time they meet the ground the same lens bounces out. If they hadn’t cost a small packet I’d have given them away already. The kind people at the opticians fixed it for free and it seemed that for the entire time until I boarded my plane the next evening, there was kindness coming from everyone. It is hard not to judge but this compares starkly with Bombay where everyone has an angle.

Will add photos later.

Saturday – my last day in Hyderabad. Yesterday I went to the railway station and arranged my ticket (under the carriage ceiling, not above it) to Mumbai. I was amazed – tickets are applied for! So I picked up an application form and looked at it a little dazed. Within seconds a kind stranger offered to fill it in for me. Now that I have watched him do it I feel confident the next one will be a cinch – as long as I know the name of the train I want.

Afterwards I made a concession – I bought a thick, squishy pillow. Just need to get a pillow slip now.

Afterwards, still worried about not having found anywhere that serves the Hyderabadi Biriyani, I called the guy I was seated next to on the plane, Harsha. He was kind enough to offer to take me along with him while he did some errands, we checked out a new shopping centre that had newly opened last time he was home. I thought it would be a good opportunity to check the price of the Bird book I promised Marcos – not there. After that, a drive along the lakeshore to Secunderabad, to the Restaurant that is famous for it’s Biryani. Yum!! Afterwards we had Quarbani ka mitha, a dessert made from fresh dates and honey, also a specialty of Hyderabad.

Harsha dropped me off at my hotel and after a nap to sleep off lunch I went to the MPM mall with every intention of spending time on my blog and getting last minute supplies for the train ride. Only minutes after getting into the supermarket the power went out. I decided to stay waiting – at the expense of blogging – until the tills were operational again so that I could buy everything I wanted. I waited about 3/4 hour as it got hotter and hotter, before finally deciding to give up buying everything I wanted and settling for getting a couple of things from various small salls around he place. One thing you can’t buy – even from supermarkets – here in Hyderabad is yoghurt, of any kind. Apparently people don’t buy it, they always make it themselves.

After checking out of the hotel, I had an early dinner. I managed to find out that Ausralia had won the toss for the Cricket WC final but play was delayed due to rain, before leaving for my 10 minute stroll to the station.

At the station there were hundreds of people milling around at a platform with no train so I decided to have a gander around the place. Next time I looked there was a train and not many people so thought I had better see if I could find out where I was supposed to be. I found my name on one of the carriages and stowed my backpack with just enough time to buy a bottle of water from a vendor on the platform.

While at the station felt a few strange twinges in my gut….

After almost 2 full days having a look around Hyderabad the thing that stands out most for me is the noise of the traffic!! The noise of it all is just amazing.

But lets go back to what has happened since my last post….

After a massage I picked up my bag from the Suk and thinking I had another 2 hours to kill decided to just “check” my flight time anyway. Boy am I glad I get “feelings” that tell me to check things. As usual the “feeling” was a good thing because it was actually time to be leaving the Suk in a taxi – not time to hang out as I had thought. I hightailed it to the road and found a taxi driver, haggled for about 20 seconds and was on my way. I know the amount was still too much but it also happened to be right on peak traffic time.

This flight had none of the hassles of the last flight. By the way – I can’t believe Thai airways don’t have individual screens throughout their planes – especially for longer flights of 6 hours or more. I was seated next to an nice young Indian guy that has been studying in Australia.

We interrupt this spiel for an announcement – we just had power failures in the building with the exception of the computers. They must be on some sort of back-up plus generator or something. The lights go out but the computers don’t even blink. That’s power in India for you.

Back to the story… The flight was without incident and I have now had a taste of customs but I have to say that I have seen worse. Maybe Hyderabad is better than other airports in that respect. I caught a taxi to my first hotel and wondered how the driver could see anything through the windscreen. The Hotel was fine but has definitely seen better days. I shared a large room with a couple of timid cockroaches (I’m just thankful there aren’t any grasshoppers to be seen – yet). No need to use hot water for my shower but it was there none-the-less. My only gripe was that the mattress was like sleeping on a carpeted floor – absolutely no give. The hotel I am at now has the same mattresses too. I have been wishing the whole time that I had brought my inflatable mattress – my lower back is not liking my choice of beds. Laura, if you decide to come over, please bring my inflatable mattress with you!

Yesterday I was up early. Thirst and the mattress drove me to it. I didn’t have any bottled water with me, it was too late to get some when I arrived. So I asked for a place close by to have some breakfast and was directed to a restaurant around the corner – Rs50 / AUD1.50 for a buffet breakfast – that was already bustling with customers. They put a glass of water in front of me and it took me about 30 seconds of mind wrestling until I gave in and just went for it. I drank my fill!! Not even 12 hours in the place and already I am breaking the “travel in India” rule #1. 2 minutes later I broke rule #2 and ate paw paw cut into pieces. I figured if I was going to break the rules once I may as well get it all over and done with and do the rest of them. Besides, it seemed that the locals trusted the place so I figured I can too. Just to ease Mum’s mind, I had a Lassi as well to help with the flora situation. I then went back to the hotel to try to sleep some more. As it is I have not had any trouble yet with my digestive system.

Later that day I bought myself some local attire which I wore for the first time today. It hasn’t done anything to lessen the staring, but I am finding the salwar kameez quite comfortable. I even feel quite comfortable having the shawl just hanging there. Also I have adjusted it’s use to allow for the backpack. The sunnies sorta stand out too – i haven’t seen anyone else use them.

The weather is hot and dry – much like northerly weather in Victorian summers. There is a persistent haze but that might just be because I am in a city. The dirty exhaust factor, while evident, really isn’t much worse than Brisbane.

Today I went to the Char Minar, Hyderabad’s main drawcard. I went up to the top and wandered around looking at the view of the rest of the area. Adjacent is the huge Mecca Masjid that has room for up to 10 000 people at a time. Apparently about 70% of the population in Hyderabd is Moslem. It is called Mecca Masjid because a few centrally placed bricks were made from soil in Mecca and brought here especially for it’s construction. Afterwards I went back through the gauntlet of beggars to a rickshaw and off to a place to eat.